Crossover Christmas: At home with the Hyundai ix35

In three short years the crossover (cars with an SUV style profile but little or no off-road potential) has emerged as one of the most popular market niches in the UK.

The incredible sales success of the Nissan Qashqai has seen almost every mainstream manufacturer jump on the family-friendly bandwagon, and there are now a multitude of affordable, two-wheel drive, high-sided vehicles to choose from.

That's all well and good for 95 per cent of the year, but December once again proved an an icy cold reminder of why the four-wheel drive grunt 'n' grip of conventional SUVs was actually the key to their original appeal.